Speechless
by Delumoris
Summary: In which Sasuke Uchiha poorly tries to convey feelings for a certain Hyuuga girl. 3 parts of awkwardness. xx r
1. Chapter 1

Hinata never understood much about Sasuke.

The boy was a shell of what he used to be it seemed. Consumed with grief, he shut down and crumbled after what his beloved brother had done to him. That, everyone was positive. But what he ever felt besides the constant loathing for a memory of a person he once trusted remained a mystery.

But for Hinata, things were a little different. There were times during her academy classes when she would sneak a glance to the boy all the girls were mutedly gossiping about, only to find his gaze already locked on her. Bashful, Hinata would shy away from his attention.

Though Hinata was almost certain the young Uchiha held some sort of affection for her she could unfortunately, and almost ironically, not return, his eyes never slipped from their cold and hard black. No, they wouldn't soften so kindly and his eyelashes wouldn't flutter in a display of schoolboy puppy-love like those girls sighed so heavily at the fantasy of him doing so, they just stayed so... _blank. _

But why her of all people? Failure-ridden Hyuuga Hinata, who was merely a painfully average ranking among her classmates? This is where she would put her wandering mind at ease, and remind herself of how ridiculous she was acting. She shouldn't be wasting her time on thinking of such foolish things. Even if her eyes would gloss over while fondly watching the blonde boy with the sun-kissed complexion, she wasn't _that_ fickle.

Soon Hinata learned to ignore what felt like heated attention from Sasuke when she ate her bento on the swing set, or when she trained, or when she did _anything_ it seemed.


	2. Chapter 2

Before she realized, Sasuke Uchiha was in the very back of her mind, and she was already 13. Now an actual ninja, she was exhausted all the time, and hardly ever saw anything of her fellow rookie 9, which unfortunately meant less of Naruto as well.

Taking in a few more ragged breathes, Hinata half-heartedly brushed off the debris from her training, and took achy steps to the nearby stream. Making it to the shore of the water, she sat in the vibrant green, and hugged her knees to her chest. Training was getting the best of her. If only she could get her techniques _right_ and _finally_ impress father, and maybe even get a certain someone to look at her and...

Hinata's right ear twitched when the familiar crunch of footsteps in grass came from behind her, and sensing them to be rather leisurely and unguarded, she stayed where she was and threw a glance at what was approaching.

Almost gaping as wide as possible, Hinata took in the sight of the Uchiha boy, looking as passive as ever (hands stuffed in his pockets and _everything_) taking a seat next to her in the grass. His raven hair gently being combed through by the breeze, his eyes trained on the water flowing in front of them, he just _sat. _Next to her.

Hinata was speechless, flustered, and cherry red all at the same time. Sasuke, the boy that watched her in school, was sitting a foot away from her, and he was just so darn _emotionless_ about it. Did this mean anything? Should she even consider it, really?

Hinata felt like they were sitting there for hours, and her body that so badly wanted to relax from over exerting herself was now stiff and tense, and her heart was racing. Sasuke wouldn't even give her the courtesy of saying a single word.

Just when her breath had slowed from its erratic rhythms, Sasuke covered her hand with his. Hinata nearly gave herself whiplash looking back up to him, but she could see nothing but the back of his spiked hair, his head twisted away from her. Just before she fainted, Hinata could almost feel his fingers gently, and dare she think _sheepishly_ entangle themselves with hers.


	3. Chapter 3

Stunned, Sasuke's hand retracted at lightning speed when he noticed the acute limpness in the girl next to him. He turned towards her and thrust out his arms to catch her, gripping tightly onto her small frame while her head bobbed back and wisps of navy hair veiled a burning face. "Shit," he murmured to himself. Holding Hinata's hand had been embarrassing enough, but practically _cradling _her was a whole other level. Naruto's ridiculous advice of being assertive was not going to go without punishment. It was more than obvious Sasuke was inexperienced when it came to girls, but to be so gullible was a fault on his part as well...

Flustered, Sasuke checked around him for anyone that might be watching, and tucked the Hyuuga girl closer to him. He glanced past his nose and saw below him slightly tussled velvet soft hair, and long eyelashes resting atop rosy cheeks. Heart now racing, Sasuke cleared his throat and wrapped another arm under knees and stood, carrying Hinata. It wouldn't have been terrible of him to have just left her resting near the stream, but had he been absent after she awakened, what little interaction they shared would have been brought to a horrid conclusion. Taking a deep and shaky breath, Sasuke walked away from the stream and into the forest.

xxx

For lack of a better imagination, Sasuke was now sitting in his bedroom. He gripped tightly onto the legs of his cargo shorts and peered over to the sleeping girl atop his bed. This kind of intimate setting could possibly land him in a lot of trouble when Hinata awakened, but for now it would have to do. Being seen as a pair in public would not go without some kind of scene, and bringing Hinata to her home unconscious would raise questions his already fragile composure was not ready for.

The way she furred her eyebrows in her sleep every now and then and curled up into a very bashful posture was unquestionably adorable. Sasuke watched her with great intensity, marveling at her features and little quirks. How others weren't captivated the same way Sasuke had been was a mystery to him. She'd manage to steal his heart even when he was still hardened and shut away by the death of his family. However, having cut himself off from social interactions, Sasuke could only manage gazing at the quiet Hyuuga. Class during the academy was relatively uneventful not including a barrage of young girls he hadn't the time of day for, and he spent every bored second sighing and keeping an eye on a certain someone.

When Hinata profusely began to stir, Sasuke came to a decision.

Hinata groaned and tossed towards Sasuke, eyes fluttering open, blinking rapidly. Something in her eyes showed a type of understanding when she began to realize where she was, and Sasuke could her faintly croak the word, "Oh," when her cheeks started burning again. The silence surrounding the two teens was thick and disturbing. Sasuke's composure returned and he blankly stared at the flustered girl slowly trying to tuck sheets over her head. The air was tense and time had all but stopped, trapping them in this never ending imprisonment of a very bizarre world, where two people who had never bothered to communicate with each other were being suffocated by claustrophobia. When Hinata had felt she was on the brink of madness, she opened her mouth to speak but was abruptly halted by a fuzz of noise that almost sounded like it came from Sasuke.

"P-Pardon?" Hinata questioned, blinking once. Sasuke had a mortified look on his face, and Hinata could see his knuckles turning white from clutching his shorts too tightly. "Fine," he grunted. "I'll say it again. _I like you_."

Hinata's face turned pensive and flaming red. She managed to stutter out, "Y-Y-Yeah.. I k-k-kinda knew…" Hearts were fluttering and faces were flaming red that afternoon, but by nightfall Sasuke was walking home his girlfriend.


End file.
